Hello all. And HAPPY NEW YEAR! I’ve come out of blogger retirement to bring to you one of my FAVORITE soup recipes. I figured since I was making it (and it’s the bomb.com) why not share it? I love it when people share good recipes with me. Foolproof ones. Ones that are going to be delicious every.single.time you make them. After all, it is January and most of us are freezing are beejeezus off. A good soup is just what everyone is craving to keep their belly’s nice and warm. I don’t know about you, but I could eat soup every day. Not canned soup. Yuck. They are either filled with sodium or taste like crap. Make a good homemade soup and than either eat it all week or freeze some! Soup holds up really well when frozen. Today I’m sharing my tortilla soup recipe. I feel like it’s really hard to find good tortilla soup at a restaurant. It’s either too chunky or has way too much cumin. I loathe cumin. This will be your new go-to tortilla soup recipe. I PROMISE. It will be the best you have. And I don’t lie. It’s healthy too.

Okay, let’s get started shall we?

Roughly chop 1 small onion, 2 medium sized jalapeños and mince 2 TBS of garlic. Heat 2 TBS. of olive oil and then add onions. Cook 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent. ***Doesn’t matter how big you chop your ingredients because we are going to puree.***Once the onions are translucent, add the jalapeño’s and garlic…cook for another couple minutesOnce everything is soft, add 1 14.5 oz can of HUNTS Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and 6 cups of Low Sodium Chicken Broth. Bring it to a boil.Once boiling, add 3 large chicken breasts. Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes until breasts are cooked through.Meanwhile, juice 2 limes. When breasts are cooked remove them from the pot and shred all of the meat.This is one of my FAVORITE kitchen tools. Do you have one? It’s an immersion blender. It’s like a blender on a stick! Super easy to use and clean.Take the immersion blender and blend the soup until smooth. About a minute or 2. This makes the soup nice and creamy (minus the cream.) Then, Add the lime juice and as much frozen corn as your little heart desires. I usually do a half bag.Add a little salt, then taste! Now you are ready to assemble. In a bowl, put some of the shredded chicken and then ladle on the broth. Now, the best part…TOPPINGS! Add some shredded cheese, sliced avocado, sour cream and some tortilla strips. YUM, YUM, YUM. Feel free to add black beans or cilantro as well!

In a large saucepan heat the olive. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Once the onions have softened add the garlic and jalepenos and cook for another minute. Pour the chicken broth and tomatoes in and bring to a boil. Once at a boil lower heat to simmer and add your chicken breasts. Cook the chicken for 30 to 40 minutes. Once chicken is cooked remove from pot. When cool enough to handle shred it and set it aside. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Add lime juice and salt to the pot. In a serving bowl add a mound of shredded chicken. Ladle soup over chicken and top with strips, avocado slices, cheese and sour cream.

Share this:

Like this:

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Chinese food. Well, “American” Chinese food. If I had to eat actual Chinese food in China I would probably live off of pudding cups like Charlotte did in the Sex and the City movie. Minus the sharting. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to food. So the Chinese that we are all used to is one of my favs!

My first job was actually working at a Chinese Restaurant doing the carryout. It was my family’s favorite place to grab good Chinese and we knew the owners. I was about 14 years old and my mom and I walked in to pick up some food. She asks the owner…”are you hiring right now?” And I looked at her and said…”um why do you suddenly have an urge to work here?” And she snapped back, “NO A JOB FOR YOU!” I was like, “omg this isn’t happening. What the hell am I gonna do here?!?! Cut the head of the chicken in the back?” Anyways, she told my mom they were not hiring and I let out a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to work at all let alone at a Chinese restaurant. At the time a tanning salon or something would’ve been more ideal. (Dumb, dumb.) However a couple weeks later the owner of the restaurant called my mom and said their carryout girl just quit and they would just “love for Angela to come work with us!” Pfffffff. I was so mad. Needless to say my mother sent me off because you know that was the age I was giving her a hard time and it would be “good for me”. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 5-9pm making $6.15 an hour I was working in the kitchen putting orders together. And you know what? It ended up being the BEST JOB EVER! It was a blast! There were kids my age who worked in the kitchen from a close HS nearby washing dishes and waiting tables. We all hit it off well. The place was super clean and the food was amazing. Plus I would occasionally play kissy face with one of the dishwasher boys in the supply room. Looks like your plan backfired a little bit huh mom?” Hahahahahaha.

So, whenever I see people or chefs saying…”make your own chinese at home” and “why buy it when you can make it yourself sooooo much better in just 15 minutes?” Well this just burns my ass. Why would I want to make my own Chinese food? One of the MAIN reasons I would get Chinese is because I don’t feel like cooking. So why would I make it? You know it’s not going to taste the same. Not even close! But it’s “better for you.” Yes I know. I will eat a salad if I want “better for you.” Give me some dang almond boneless chicken, with an egg roll and some white rice. And a side of MSG. THANKS!

Well the Chinese food in Nashville sucks. I mean it just SUCKS. It’s the worst. Really it is. There is one decent place about 20 minutes from me. So it’s not close enough to get a carryout. I’ve tried making my own fried rice. It’s good. But it’s not the same. BUT…………………………………the other day I found a recipe on Pinterest for beef with broccoli and it sparked my attention. It sounded good. Really good. So I thought hmmmm okay since I love Chinese and I can’t get anything decent around here, let’s try this.

OMG GUYS! It was amazing. Like authentic, restaurant quality “better for you” deliciousness. Better than a restaurant. It was THAT GOOD. I didn’t even take pics or anything because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be worthy of sharing. But ohhhhhhhh it was sooooooo good. So i’m just posting the recipe below and telling you to make it. Because it will knock your socks off. If you like beef and broccoli that is.

****So here’s the deal. This recipe calls for flank steak. I like flank steak but I find it to ALWAYS BE TOUGH. It’s just a tough meat. It’s not tenderloin that’s for sure. But it’s cheap. So what do you get for cheap? You get tough. It’s very lean though. So here is my suggestion. If you can splurge a little bit, use a better cut of beef. I won’t use flank steak again for this recipe despite the fact that this dish was still amazing. The steak was tough. So use something better. Unless you want tough.****

I also added some sesame seeds and green onion. It makes plenty of sauce to pour over rice. Enjoy!!!!

Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic, sherry, honey, ginger, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, Sriracha sauce and beef broth. Set aside until ready to use.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the steak until it starts to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add sauce and stir in with the steak, it should start to thicken immediately. Add broccoli and cook for an additional 2 minutes until broccoli is tender and sauce is thickened.
Serve over rice or noodles.

Share this:

Like this:

Guess who’s back? Back again. Angie’s back. Tell a friend. (Don’t ever call me Angie by the way or I will cut you.) So, where have I been might you ask? Well, I’ve been busy. Very busy. And tired. I’ve been traveling a lot too. I also threw my boys a massive 2nd and 4th birthday party which totally wore me out. I’ve barely cooked a decent meal in the last couple months. Or at least nothing worthy of a “blog post.” And you know what? This blogging crap is a lot of work. I mean a lot. It’s fun and I love it though. I especially love hearing feedback from people. I had a man come up to me at the golf course where my husband plays and said, “hey i love your blog! I made your chicken soup. I hated it. My wife loved it though.” Hahahahaha! I’ve gotten lots of really sweet comments from people and I’m so glad most have been enjoying it! You know half the time when I’m doing this I have my kids screaming at me or pulling at my leg. I misspell words and I might forget a step or 2. Who cares though right? But I needed a dang break. I’ve been majorly wore out. So anyways…all is good! I’m cooking again. And I desperately need to hit the gym because my last couple months of fun have also been causing severe damage to my back side. The several posts will be “healthy” recipes no doubt but they will be goooood.

Well…this pasta…it’s an oldie but a goodie and one of the first few things that I ever made for my husband. It’s DELICIOUS!! I saw Rachel Ray make it years ago and I knew it would be good because of my love for lemons and pasta. It’s a lighter dish too. (Well, kinda light.) It’s like chicken piccata in a bowl with cheesy pasta! It’s one of my go-to’s because it’s easy and everyone loves it. Unless you’re my mother who thinks lemon and pasta don’t go together. She also thinks chicken and pasta together is a sin. (But she’s weird with food.) There is a little bit of prep work involved but not too much. I like to do the wash and chop the chicken earlier in the day so it’s ready. I’ve altered it a little bit because I found it to be a bit too dry. So I use less noodles than the recipe calls for.

Enjoy!

Start with 1 1/3 pound of chicken breast chopped into 1 inch chunks. I like smaller pieces of chicken so chop it however you like. Heat a deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil and add the chicken.Season VERY WELL with salt and pepper. When chicken is cooked though and golden brown, remove and cover with foil.Chop 4 cloves of garlic. Squeeze one whole lemon and set aside. In a measuring cup measure 1/2 cup of white wine and in another 1 cup of chicken stock. Chop 1/2 cup of flat leaf parsley. Lastly, set aside 2 TBS of flour and 1 1/2 TBS of butter.Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the penne. Once boiling, add about 3/4lb. of pasta to the water. I do just a little less than one pound so it’s not as dry. DON’T FORGET TO SALT THE WATER.

(Use the same skillet as the chicken). Heat the remaining 1 TBS of Olive Oil and 1 TBS butter over medium low heat. Add the garlic cloves and cook until just lightly golden. DON’T OVERCOOK! As soon as you start to see it become translucent and LIGHTLY brown, add in the 2 TBS of flour. Whisk, Whisk! Let it cook for a minute and then add 1/2 cup of white wine. Whisk again until incorporated and reduced (about 1 minute.) Next whisk in lemon juice and chicken broth. Stir in parsley. (Recipe calls for capers but I don’t use them because my boys don’t like. When you stir in the parsley you can also add in 3 TBS capers!) Raise heat to medium/medium high. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add in remaining 1/2 TBS of butter. Then add the chicken back to the pan and heat. Sauce will thicken up in a about 2-3 minutes. Strain the penne and mix very well into the sauce. Don’t forget the parmesan cheese!

Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Share this:

Like this:

This sh*t is Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S! (You know you’re going to have that song in your head for the rest of the day now.

Everything about these bananas brings family to mind. My grandma made them growing up as well as my mother. They were a favorite summer time treat! We always had them for holiday weekends and everyone went bonkers over them. They are so easy and quick to make. We are having a Mother’s Day BBQ at my abode, so I thought these would be a perfect addition!

Now you can get all fancy on me and melt your own chocolate. (I’m clapping for you.) We’ve always used the Smucker’s brand (yes, I know…hard to believe right?) and it’s soooooo good. It hardens instantly. But I figure, why mess with perfection right? I always like the better-for-you route. However this is just too perfect to change. Just buy the Smuckers. And don’t feel bad about yourself. It’s OK once in a while, really. ( I mean, it’s fruit guys!) It’s called Smuckers Magic Shell Chocolate. It tastes realllllllly good and hardens fast. So make sure you apply your toppings right away!

Mmmm good luck eating just one! Enjoy 🙂

I used 3 of these for about 18-20 BananasStart with some bananas. Peel and cut in half. Then stick a POPSICLE STICK through the center…NOT a cake pop stick like I used. ( I thought I had some but didn’t!) The popsicle sticks are much sturdier and easier to hold. Cover the bananas and put in freezer over night or until completely frozen.Now slice up your toppings. M&M’s would be good for the kids too. I used Butter Finger, Caramel and Dry Roasted Peanuts. The salty and sweet combination is perfect. Now take that Chocolate and SHAKE IT. I mean shake it good. Shake what your mama gave ya! Then pour it into a coffee mug. Take the frozen banana and dip in the chocolate. You will have to pick up the mug and tilt it around to get the whole banana covered. Then quickly add your favorite toppings. QUICKLY!!! The chocolate hardens fast.Place them on some parchment paper when finished! When dry put them in a container and freeze right away. If using caramel put it in a double boiler or a small sauce pan with a glass bowl on top. Melt caramels with a little bit of water over low heat and stir until melted. Then drizzle over bananas. Yum! Doesn’t get any better than this!

Really no recipe here.

Bananas. Slice in half, add popsicle stick. Freeze overnight or until frozen solid. Take the chocolate and shake really well. Add to a coffee mug. Dunk the frozen banana into the mixture, turning to coat completely. QUICKLY add your favorite toppings. Then place on parchment paper. When dry, put in a container and freeze until ready to use.

(Can you tell I got a little lazy?)

Ha!

Share this:

Like this:

Mother’s Day and Brunch go hand in hand. I don’t really get the whole brunch thing to be honest with you. I don’t want an omelette and a piece of chicken next to it. But, to each is own. You know what’s even worse? A waffle with a piece of fried chicken on it. Seriously guys, whoever started that trend needs to be punished. It’s not right. Now that I’ve been a Nashvillian for almost 7 years, I’m starting to embrace the whole brunch idea. Because just about EVERY restaurant there offers a fabulous Sunday Brunch with endless options. Everyone be brunchin’ in the South that’s for sure. So put on your big ole’ fancy hat and pearls (if your in the South) and check out a local hot brunch spot. And bless your sweet heart. (I kinda want to bitch smack someone every time they say that to me.)

So Brunch. Well it’s like a combination of breakfast and lunch right? I’ve been to brunches where people have served just breakfast and called it brunch because it’s been around lunch time. And I’ve been to brunches that have served both. I don’t know what the rules are here. But I think it would be wrong (like starting a sentence with but) if you only served LUNCH at your BRUNCH. Right?

My Mother’s Day “brunch” menu is just breakfast. I like to serve this SUPER EASY and delicious food around lunch time. Quiche is great to make for a crowd. This particular recipe below I adapted from Paula Deen years ago. It’s my favorite. I’ve made a few changes because let’s be honest, before my old girl Paula lost 50 pounds she was serving up heart attacks in a box for a good 20 years. Her recipe calls for a whole pound of bacon and 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream. And that’s in ONE quiche. That’s a lot. Of course everything in moderation is ok. But I knew I could make this and have it taste just as good if not better. I have to warn you. I’m not much of a baker. Pie crust is foreign to me. I’ve made it a couple times and it came out good. However I was not in the mood to make my own! By all means, if you want to bust out the eggs and flour…knock yourself out. I’m sure the quiche will be that much better. I went the easy route and bought Pillsbury Pie Crust. And it was gooooooooooood. Cut corners when you want to. And lie to your guests. Tell them you made it. (And make sure you hide the box really good in the garbage.) They will never know the difference I promise. You can still be a great cook and be totally full of shit I promise.

An awesome compliment to the quiche is sausage pinwheels. (Recipe below) Omg. They are soooo good. I first had them years ago when I was invited to a friends house for brunch. However she made the dough herself. I fell in love. And I’m really not a sausage fan at all so I was shocked that I liked these. These things will disappear before you can blink!

Anyways, let’s get to the food.

Let’s start with the mmmmmmmm bacon!

Fry up a 1/2 lb. of Bacon. I like to use center cut because it’s more lean. Then when cooled, chop it up! Set aside.Baby Spinach. 2 cups packed well. I like to remove the stems but that is just a personal preference. I hate biting into anything stringy. Put in a microwave safe bowl and cook for about 30 seconds until wilted. Then chop. Set aside.Roll your pie crust over a DEEP DISH pie pan. Then try to make it look as pretty as possible. Clearly this is not my strong point.Whisk together 6 large eggs, 1 1/2 cups of whole milk (you can probably use 2 % to0), and a pinch of salt and pepper.Spread the bacon over the pie crust and then all of the spinach. Try to separate the spinach as much as possible.Then, add 1 1/2 Cups of shredded swiss cheese. Now…I’m a real stickler when it comes to cheese. Please PLEASE don’t buy your grocery store generic brand already shredded. It makes all the difference in the world when you buy good cheese believe me. Go to the fancy cheese section and buy a nice block of it. And then shred it yourself. Skimp on some areas (like the crust) but not on the cheese!Now add the milk/egg mixture to the pie.Make sure you whisk the eggs really well. See that big glob of egg white in the upper left? Yeah…you don’t want that! Now you are ready to bake 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.Here is the finished product. See…there is the big egg white. Whisk, whisk, whisk! My crust is a little high too. Make sure the crust is about 1/2 inch over the egg mixture.Cut it in wedges! Yum!

Now, for the sausage pinwheels. Get ready to slave over the stove.

Yep. That’s it. We are going all out here.Roll out the Crescent dough. I bought a whole one with out the seems. If you can’t find just buy the regular ones and pinch the seems together. Then spread your favorite sausage over the top and roll up long ways.Slice them into about 3/4 to 1 Inch rolls.Pop these babies in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until nice and golden brown.DONE! Get ready to be mind blown.They are like crack. You can make them in advance too just don’t cut them until you are ready to cook. Wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Place the dough on a baking sheet and spread out till even. Take the sausage and spread with a spatula over the dough. Roll up long ways and then slice into 3/4-1 inch rolls. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Share this:

Like this:

Mother’s Day wouldn’t be complete with out a little bubbly right? Especially if you are a part of my family. We buy it by the case! This “Pink Lemonade Champagne Punch” is a perfect Spring or Summer drink. It seriously takes 5 minutes to put together and it is DE-LISH! All you need is some frozen pink lemonade concentrate, a bottle of cheap dry champagne, club soda, ice and fruit. I adapted this recipe from Sandra Lee, however her version was way, way WAY too sweet. So I changed it up a bit and made it fabulous. Cuz that’s what I do!

Add 2 cans of thawed Frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate to a large pitcher. Add 1 bottle of dry champagne and 3 cups of club soda. Stir well to combine. If it tastes to sweet to you, add club soda 1/2 cup at a time until. Don’t add too much, I like to add a couple scoopfuls of ice and that will water it down a little too. Then top with some sliced fruit and your good-to-go! And always add some sweet treats and pretty flowers next to your libations. Fancy eh? These sugar cookies from A Frosted Affair in Nashville will BLOW YOUR MIND. Mom will thank you. Enjoy!

Share this:

Like this:

Soooooo do you have a bar cart yet? I’ve recently invested in not 1 but 2 of them and I have to say…the party planner in me is totally obsessed. They are so fun and versatile!! Also great for people that don’t have a whole lot of space but still want to entertain. You can dress them up or down, beverages, treats, candles, flowers, food, party favors, the possibilities are endless! If you don’t have a butler’s pantry or a wet bar in your home, these are fantastic options. Being able to move it around is so nice and your guests can easily help themselves! Some are bigger, some smaller. You just have to find one that works for you and your space. The one above is from West Elm. Target has a cute one has well online.

With Mother’s Day just a few weeks away, I decided to do a “Mother’s Day Rose Bar Cart” to give y’all some ideas for the upcoming event! Whether your a mama, a mama-t0-be, have a mama, mama in-law, grandmama, or just a special person in your life who is a mama…they deserve to be pampered. Being a mom is serious business. As most of you know, it’s the most rewarding and challenging thing you will ever do in your life. And those mama’s deserved to be damn appreciated on this day right? So bust out some pink bubbly and get going. Make your special Mama feel extra special on Mother’s Day! She will appreciate you 🙂 And because I like any reason or holiday whatsoever to have a glass of champagne, (I know I’m not alone) I decided to stick with a sparkling rosé theme.

Recreate this look very easily! Chandon Rosé is great sparkling wine and very reasonably priced. You might have to order the splits (mini bottles) online as did I. And if you are going with a “pink” theme it’s perfect. Veuve Clicquot has a great rosé champagne as well if you want to spend some dough on your mama.

Give your champagne flutes a little extra special touch and adorn them with pink sugar!! Cut a wedge out of a lime and then slice the lime so that it will slide around the rim of the glass easily. Pour some sugar onto a plate and then dip the glass into it while twisting and turning. Looks so pretty. Hang tags are a fun way to spruce up your glasses as well! You can find them anywhere. These were blank (except for the gold circles) and I used a “Happy Mother’s Day” stamp and gold ink to customize them. You can find the stamp, ink and tags at the Paper Source. Stampers are everywhere! Michaels, Joanne, Hobby Lobby, and craft store. They are an awesome way to add a personal touch to tags, signs or whatever you are creating. Hang Tags from the Paper SourceMother’s Day Stamp

Champagne Gummy Bears. Need I say more? These are amazing. Find them at the Papersource or at Sugarfina Candy Sugarfina has ahhhhhmazing candy. It’s pricey, but worth it if you want to splurge a bit. I like to have some sweet treats around. These make awesome favors!

More sweet treats. Now I know these don’t look like an expert baker made these cupcakes. LOL! My first time “Piping” frosting on a cupcake. Not too horrible right? Ok well not great. But the taste is all that matters. YUM, YUM! Homemade frosting is the way to go. I never realized how easy it was! Check out this recipe. It’s a whipped frosting. Absolutely delicious. I made vanilla cupcakes but would like the frosting better on chocolate. Buttercream Frosting

And there you have it! Add some beautiful flowers and Mother’s Day accents, you’re all set! Your loved one will feel oh so special! (Gold MOM letter’s are from Hobby Lobby!)

Share this:

Like this:

Posts navigation

About Me

WIFE AND MOTHER. FOOD LOVER. MICHIGAN NATIVE. LIVING IN NASHVILLE WITH MY HUSBAND OF 6 YEARS AND TWO LITTLE BOYS. SHARING MY FAVORITE RECIPES, ENTERTAINING AND DECOR TIPS! (AND WHATEVER ELSE THAT FANCIES ME) I’M CERTAINLY NOT AN EXPERT OF ANYTHING BUT LOVE TO SHARE MY TIPS AND TRICKS THAT HAVE HELPED ME ALONG THE WAY. I HAVE A PASSION FOR COOKING AND LOVE TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS! PLEASE SEND ME QUESTIONS ANYTIME. HUGS, ANGELA